Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Footballer Is Guilty

Wednesday 22 Oct, 2008

An Emirati footballer has been sentenced to three years in jail for kidnapping a woman and locking her up in his flat. Salah Abbas, a 26-year-old footballer for a leading team in the Etisalat league, and his compatriot, were found guilty of kidnapping the 21-year-old Iraqi woman yesterday. The court heard that in August last year, the victim was with her female friends at a petrol station in Rashidiya and was invited to a party by the star. After she refused, Abbas forced her into his car and took her to his villa, where he threatened to burn her. After she escaped, police were called and they took Abbas into custody. Abbas is already on bail pending appeal in a separate case after being sentenced to three years for firing a gun at a man and forcing him to kiss the foot of his friend.

Woman gets six months in jail for molesting policewoman

By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
Published: October 21, 2008, 23:45

Dubai: A New Zealand woman will spend six months in jail for sexually molesting a policewoman when she was under the influence of liquor, ruled a court.

The Dubai Court of First Instance found the 41-year-old female, L.T., guilty of hugging and kissing the policewoman and touching her private body parts besides drinking alcohol, as charged by the Public Prosecution.

Presiding Judge Saeed Salem Bin Sarm also said she will be deported after serving her punishment, which is still subject to appeal within 15 days.

When she first appeared in court, the woman, who is a housewife denied that she kissed, hugged or indecently touched the policewoman. She pleaded not guilty to molestation and admitted drinking alcohol.

Public Prosecution records said the policewoman went with a police patrol to a five-star hotel in Jumeirah after Dubai Police's operation room received an emergency tip that the accused was causing trouble to hotelgoers.

The policewoman testified during the Public Prosecution questioning that when she took the accused for blood and urine test to examine the amount of alcohol she had consumed, 'she molested me'.

The 41-year-old was found guilty of hugging and kissing the policewoman, besides drinking alcohol.
http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Police_and_The_Courts/10253583.html

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Manager jailed and fined Dh6.4m in 'historic verdict'

By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
Published: October 15, 2008, 23:32


Dubai: A company manager has been jailed and fined Dh6.45 million for employing 94 workers illegally, marking what a senior naturalisation and residency prosecutor described as "historic and unprecedented verdict".

The Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Court of First Instance sentenced the 52-year-old Indian manager, P.M., to two months in jail and fined him Dh5 million for hiring 65 people who entered the country illegally. The court slapped additional fine of Dh1.45 million for employing 29 people who were sponsored by others.

The accused, who managed an electro-mechanical company, will also be deported after completing his sentence. The verdict is still subject to appeal.

Ali Humaid Bin Khatim, head of Naturalisation and Residency Prosecution, described the ruling as remarkable and the first of its kind in the country's history "in terms of the fine's heftiness and number of workers who were hired illegally".

"The incident happened last August when the workers complained to the Labour Ministry against P.M., accusing him of not paying their salaries. The authorities' investigations revealed that company manager hired the workers illegally... we detained the 94 workers and the manager as well before they were referred to the Naturalisation and Residency Court," said Bin Khatim.

The head of Dubai's Naturalisation and Residency Prosecution told a press conference yesterday that nine suspects were charged with working on a visit visa and failing to pay their fines for overstaying in the country, 19 suspects were charged with working for different sponsors and 65 suspects were charged with entering the country illegally.

The court awarded the 94 illegal workers (one Sri Lankan, 23 Indians and 70 Bangladeshis) different jail terms (between three and six months) and different fines (between Dh3,000 to Dh4,000). All of them will be deported after serving their sentence.

The Labour Ministry's Undersecretary Humaid Bin Dimas, who attended the hearing, said: "Since His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, described those who hire illegal workers as 'traitors' in April 2007... our cooperation with the Naturalisation and Residency Prosecution, Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department and Dubai Police became productive and fruitful. Our cooperation has developed and the punishments have been stiffened because we seek to reach a market free of illegal workers, who represent a menace to our society."

Etihad flight diverted after bomb note found

By Dina El Shammaa, Staff Reporter
Published: October 15, 2008, 23:32


Abu Dhabi: A bomb threat note found on-board caused Etihad flight EY231 from Abu Dhabi to Islamabad to be diverted to Karachi on Wednesday.

The note was found in one of the aircraft's toilets.

"According to the information we have received, a passenger went into the toilet and found a note and started shouting that there was a bomb on-board," a Pakistan civil aviation official said.

The aircraft, an Airbus A330, had 193 passengers and 14 cabin crew on-board. It landed safely in Karachi at 14.13pm local time.

Local airport authorities helped the passengers and crew to disembark the aircraft safely.

According to an Etihad Airways memo, the Pakistani police force did a thorough search of the aircraft after it had landed. It was cleared for departure shortly thereafter.

The passengers were expected to fly to their original destination, Islamabad, later on Wednesday evening.

"The safety of our customers is of paramount importance and the pilot's thorough training led to his correct decision to divert the aircraft to Karachi, and thankfully the note was found to be a hoax after the authorities searched the plane thoroughly.

"We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused and we thank them for their patience, calmness and understanding," Iain Burns, a spokesman for Etihad, said.

According to reports, the passengers were searched as they disembarked and a bomb disposal team inspected the aircraft. No explosives were found.

British sex on beach pair jailed

By Bassam Za'za, Senior Reporter
Published: October 16, 2008, 09:16


Dubai: Two Britons, who were accused of having sex on a Dubai beach, have been sentenced to three months in jail by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours on Thursday.

V.A., A British man who was visiting the emirate at the time of the incident, and M.P., a British female resident of Dubai were also fined Dh1,000 and will be deported after serving their jail terms.

Hasan Mattar, defence lawyer for the pair, said they would be appealing against the ruling.

The pair were charged with engaging in sexual activity in public, committing an indecent gesture in public and consuming alcohol after they were caught on a public beach in Jumeirah, Dubai, on July 5, 2008.

During the trial Mattar said: "The Public Prosecution failed to produce corroborative evidence against my clients concerning having consensual sex and committing indecent gestures in public."

Sunday, October 12, 2008

House cut into half


This handout from the Phnom Penh Post shwos a house sawed cut in half by a Cambodian couple as they were hoping to avoid the country's convoluted divorce process in Prey Veng province near Phnom Penh.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Small private plane crashes in Nepal, 18 dead (Reuters)

8 October 2008

KATHMANDU - A small private plane crashed in the remote mountains of northeast Nepal on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people, airline and airport officials told Reuters.

Twelve Germans and two other foreign nationals were among the dead. "There were 19 people on board," said Vinay Shakya, an official of Yeti Airlines, a domestic airline.

A crew member survived.

The aircraft, a Twin Otter carrying 16 passengers and three crew, crashed shortly before it was due to land at Lukla, known as the gateway to Mount Everest, about 125 km (80 miles) northeast of the capital Kathmandu.

The remote airport at Lukla was built in the 1960s by mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary to facilitate expeditions to the world's tallest peak.

Airport official Mahesh Basnet told Reuters the plane might have hit a mountain top as it was coming in to land.

About a dozen private airlines operate in Nepal. Many fly to remote areas that have no roads, mostly carrying foreign tourists to the Himalayan foothills, including Mount Everest.
God bless them. I darent to take the aircraft tour of Himalaya range when I was in Nepal.

Man to be jailed, lashed and fined for beating wife and drinking alcohol in Fujairah

By Fuad Ali, Staff Reporter
Published: October 07, 2008, 16:28

Fujairah: A 28-year-old man was jailed for three months, fined Dh500 and will receive 80 lashes after the Fujairah Appeal Court found him guilty of assaulting his wife, drinking alcohol and attempting suicide.

The Emirati was arrested after his wife called up the police to complain that she was being assaulted.

After arriving at their house, police discovered that the accused had attempted to suffocate himself in one of the rooms by discharging gas from a cylinder.

Police also suspected that the husband was under the influence of alcohol and a medical test later confirmed their suspicion.

The Emirati was charged with assaulting his wife, drinking alcohol and attempting suicide and the Fujairah Criminal Court found him guilty of all three charges.

The suspect chose to appeal the decision, but the convictions against him were upheld.

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Police_and_The_Courts/10250391.html

wah liu eh! Women are indeed a protected species in the middle east.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

UAE footballer detained for using witchcraft

An Emirati footballer has been dropped from the national squad after being detained by police for allegedly using witchcraft. Faisal Khaleel was held for four days by police after being arrested with two Omani ‘witches’ in Dubai.

Khaleel, who has now been released without charge, wanted the witches to use their sorcery to get him included in the starting 11 and to bring bad luck to other members of the team, according to newspaper reports in Saudi Arabia.

Police sources confirmed that the two Omanis had been deported after confessing to conning people and using sorcery.

A close friend of Khaleel’s said that the player went to see the witches so they could tell him what his future held. “There is nothing abnormal in that,” the friend said. He added: “Police raided the premises and arrested the two Omanis and Khaleel. He is angry and upset. After these reports became public he was sacked from the next game with the national team.” The friend said Khaleel had no intention of using witchcraft either to benefit himself or to harm any other player.

General Khamis Mattar Al-Muzaina deputy director of Dubai Police said yesterday that he didn’t know anything about this issue.”

http://7days.ae/storydetails.php?id=817%20%20%20%20&page=local%20news&title=UAE%20footballer